Ola leads $5M-$7M funding round in bike-sharing company Vogo

Ola is leading a $5-7 million round of funding in bike-sharing startup, Vogo, along with venture capital investors Stellaris Venture Partners and Matrix Partners India, two sources familiar with the matter told ET, as another segment in the ride-sharing space picks up steam.

Vogo, Ola, Matrix and Stellaris Partners did not respond to ET’s queries.

Vogo, a three-year-old startup, operates a scooter-sharing network which allows users to pick up the vehicle from designated pickup points throughout the city and drop them at any other designated point at the end of the ride.

Vogo’s funding comes as another startup, Metrobikes, is in advanced talks to raise $10 million from top-tier venture capital firms Accel and Sequoia, as ET reported in February.

“Ola’s investment in Vogo is important. India has the largest two-wheeler market in the world. It does make sense for the company to ensure they can capture that market in the long run,” said an analyst, speaking anonymously to ET.

The process of booking a cab on Vogo is automated as the scooters are equipped with hardware to allow auto lock or unlock options through an app, which can remotely track the vehicles and check the status of the scooter.

Sources claim Vogo will benefit from Ola’s expertise and data analytics to understand demand patterns across cities. The startup will also gain from a potential distribution through Ola’s platform in the future, said the sources quoted above.

Vogo will compete with other bike-sharing startups Metrobikes and TVS Motors-backed RentOnGo.

In 2017, Vogo had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by the family members of Murugappa, AV Thomas and Thiagaraja groups. The startup has been cofounded by former Flipkart executive Anand Ayyadurai with Padmanabhan Balakrishnan and Sanchit Mittal.

The platform enables commuters to rent bikes for short hauls, starting at Rs 10 for 30 minutes, as an alternative to booking cabs or getting into an auto.